French Immersion

The ultimate goal of Holliston's French Immersion Program in the Elementary Schools is to deliver the Holliston Elementary School Curriculum through the medium of the French language. In the French Immersion classroom all instruction is delivered in French and students are immersed in the language from the very first day of class.

The Immersion model capitalizes on the ease in which children acquire language in a natural setting where the new language is the only means of communication.

From Kindergarten through the end of second grade all classroom curriculum is delivered entirely in French. Starting in 3rd grade, English instruction is introduced for half of the school day. English Language Arts and mathematics are taught in English to our third, fourth and fifth graders, while French Language Arts and Social Studies continue to be taught in French. K-5 Unified Arts subjects such as music, art, and physical education are taught in English by our highly qualified Placentino and Miller Unified Arts teachers.

The French Immersion Program is open to all students whose parents/guardians enroll them at the K level, and continues through 12th grade. In Kindergarten there are two sections of twenty-five students each. In cases of over-enrollment, an open lottery without sibling preference is held in order to ensure that all students have equal access to the program.

In Kindergarten, Reading begins with a highly phonetic approach known as Jolly Phonics (Jolly Phonique) which is also used in our English program. Our Math series has been translated into French, and is delivered to students via the target language. The same goes for Social Studies and Language Arts. The spelling program is unique to French, however.

At the 3^rd grade level, students who have learned to read entirely in French in grades K-2 are introduced to English reading. Per the theory of linguistic transfer, students do not need to learn to read all over again, but simply to transfer the skills and processes they have learned to apply in French to the task of reading in English. Having had no formal English reading instruction in Grades K-2, over 80% of our students are reading at grade level in English at the beginning of Grade 3. This remarkable phenomenon speaks to the multiple cognitive benefits of learning to speak, read and write a second language at an early age. At each level of the program, K-5, what is taught in French mirrors the curriculum taught in English classrooms.

For more information on the grade specific curriculum please visit the teachers' class webpage. Thank you!

Placentino School Teachers

Miller School Teachers